


Late Night Struggles

by stars_are_eternal



Series: Stories from Hala [2]
Category: Captain Marvel (2019), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Angst, Father-Daughter Relationship, Friendship, Male-Female Friendship, Other, Suspense
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-03
Updated: 2019-04-03
Packaged: 2020-01-04 10:01:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,244
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18341414
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/stars_are_eternal/pseuds/stars_are_eternal
Summary: Yon-Rogg is haunted by his own 'nightmare' - the rivalry between Vers and Minn-Erva. This is a short reflection on things that happened to cause it in the first place, and how Yon resolved it. A short one-shot filled with angst, father/daughter feels and rivalry!





	Late Night Struggles

_“Just leave her to die!”_

_“She absorbed the Core’s power, Minn—” ---- “I don’t care!”_

_“She’s a failure! You’d never train a failure!”_

_“I was your star student, not HER!”_

_“How could you do this?!”_

_“She will never be one of us, commander.”_

_“You **betrayed** me! I hate you!”_

 

This time, it was him to wake up from a nightmare. Yon-Rogg abruptly sat up in his bed, chest rising and falling rapidly as his amber eyes stared into the darkness of his room in the barracks, pupils dilated as his eyes tried to assimilate to the sudden change.

The very same nightmare haunted him while he was awake as well. One look towards Vers and Minn-Erva was enough to see the tension between the two of them, not to mention that Minn-Erva made his life a difficult one ever since they first brought Vers back to Hala.

Exhaling, the Kree Commander slowly got out of bed, the sensors in his room reacting immediately and opening the blinds, revealing the still asleep city behind them. Yon-Rogg approached the window, arms crossed in front of him as he focused on hundreds of thousands of lights illuminating the capital of the Kree Empire. There was something, dare he say it, rather poetic about the whole scene, something that managed to calm him to a certain point as well, though he was still more than aware of the slowly accumulated anger he kept bottling up for the past six years.

It was anger aimed towards Vers on one side and Minn-Erva on the other, both acting immature and lowering themselves to a toddler level whenever in the same room together. A few times, on rather mundane missions he took on just so Vers could get a feel for working in the field rather than being stuck inside the barracks and being limited to training with others, the two of them were close to seeing eye to eye several times. Back then, he was oblivious of the hows and whys and did his best to keep them apart, but the longer the two of them were together, almost fighting over who will had more of his attention, Yon-Rogg knew that he had to put a halt to it all.

 

*** *** *** *** *** ***

 

Minn-Erva was Yon’s star student, headstrong and determined, with a fiery temper but able to somewhat control it most times. While it wasn’t that unusual for Kree women to join the ranks of warriors, Minn was one of the very few that managed to capture his attention instantly. Considered Hala’s hero in many ways as well as one of the best expert combat men and strategists the Kree had, Yon-Rogg made it his personal task to train Minn-Erva and eventually have her be his right hand woman. Later on, once he would retire, or fall in battle, depending on what would come first, replace him as the Commander of the Starforce. It was not just coincidence that he had taken Minn to planet C-53 to shut down Mar-Vell and her attempt to help the Skrulls escape the inevitable. Minn-Erva was one of the best snipers the Kree had, and Yon-Rogg trusted her more than anybody else with that simple task.

_Then they found Vers._

Still keeping his amber eyes on the slumbering city that he saw through the window, the Kree Commander fell in deep thought again, reflecting on how it all affected not just Vers, but him, Minn and the rest of the Starforce team.

 

*** *** *** *** *** *** 

 

Vers was one of a kind, in many ways, not just because she absorbed the Core’s power and harboured it within her. To a certain extent, she also reminded him a lot of Minn-Erva - also headstrong and determined, with added stubbornness and cockiness. Yet, at the same time, his relationship with Vers became more genuine. He was the one who insisted on taking her to Hala while Minn wanted to leave her for dead. He was the one who gave her his blood to shift her from being completely Terran to being Kree, so she could endure the harsh trainings he was putting her through. Yon-Rogg felt responsible for Vers, which was the primary reason why he took her under his wing, teaching her everything he knew, becoming perhaps even a father figure off sorts to her at the same time. In the end, it all resulted in him completely ignoring Minn-Erva and giving all of his attention to Vers, his new star student.

Needless to say, none of it sat well with Minn, who came storming into his office one day, practically screaming at him in her rage.

“How could you do this to me?!,” Minn-Erva screamed, slamming both hands on his desk and practically towering over Yon-Rogg, whose facial expression looked less than impressed.

Throughout the years, they became really close, so close that Yon-Rogg himself began noticing that there was something more than partnership in the game for Minn. She was crushing hard on him, but he never said anything about it to anybody, nor did he directly address it with her either.

Yet, as they both stood there, Yon-Rogg didn’t say a thing, allowing her to let it all out before he’d give her his own opinion of the whole situation.

“I was your star student! You were always telling me that I was the best, that there was nobody like me! Why her? What makes her so special? Take that power away from her and what is she? Nothing! She’s a nobody. Nothing but a failure! You never train failures, Yon-Rogg! Never!”

Yon-Rogg remained sitting in his chair, facial expression now indifferent as his golden eyes were fixed intently on Minn-Erva.

“Perhaps,” he spoke, voice dangerously calm, underlined with that silky smoothness that he had. “Perhaps she is a failure. Perhaps I don’t train failures and send them to the first other available Commander. But Vers has potential, and she’s a fast learner.”

Minn-Erva’s face emitted nothing but sheer anger, which in turn made her face purple. Yon-Rogg, unfazed by it, kept on going.

“I don’t care if she regularly fails the simplest things. At least she isn’t as stubborn and wild like you were when you first began. You had no sense of authority and defied each and every single one of my words!”

This time, it was the Kree Commander who was towering over his subordinate, Yon-Rogg standing up and quickly closing the gap between him and Minn-Erva, the woman whimpering lightly as she knew then and there that she crossed the line.

“I’m sorry, Commander,” Minn whispered, trying to make herself as small as possible.

“You better be,” Yon-Rogg hissed. “Out. Now.”

His words left no space for argument, and Minn-Erva was quick to disappear from his office.

 

*** *** *** *** *** ***  

 

Reflecting on it, Minn did have a few good points, and her anger was justified, but it didn’t excuse her general behaviour towards Vers and her reluctance to help her despite being in the same team as her. Discord in the team was something Yon-Rogg didn’t exactly tolerate, though even his attempts seemed to be futile.

Like all stories, this one also had two sides, and Yon remembered Vers’ all too well.

It was one of the first nights that she officially joined the team despite still being in training that she came knocking on his door in the middle of the night. Her eyes were teary and hair messy as she tried to hide what actually happened and pushed it all on a nightmare, but Yon knew better. He’d seen her upset the previous day as well, though ignored it. Apparently, he wouldn’t be ignoring that anymore.

“No, it really was a nightmare,” Vers tried to make him believe her, though Yon-Rogg’s golden eyes only narrowed as they spotted a few scratches on Vers’ face and what seemed to be a handprint on her neck.

“Mhmm…,” Yon almost hummed, right hand reaching up to gently take her chin and move her head to the side, observing the small but visible injuries she sustained from, he assumed, somebody jealous of her right at that time. “I didn’t know that your nightmares got so vivid the past few nights, Vers. I’ve yet to see a nightmare so real that she’s able to scratch you the way Minn-Erva’s nails can or choke your neck like Minn-Erva’s hand can.”

Vers looked down, as if ashamed. Usually this was something she could handle, and she could, she really could! Though what happened with Minn-Erva prior to coming to Yon-Rogg was an entirely different story.

“What happened?”

 

*** *** *** *** *** ***

 

“You bitch!” Minn-Erva practically screamed as she stormed to the training area, finding Vers there training alone after having another rather vivid dream.

Vers stopped, turning around, eyes a bit wide in shock before a small frown settled on her features. This was this story again. She heard Korrath and Att-Lass talk about Minn-Erva being angry with Vers, even more so with Yon-Rogg, who rapidly switched his attention from Minn to the ‘newbie’, as they called her.

“What do you want, Minn-Erva?” Vers asked carefully, though she had a feeling what this was all about.

The Kree didn’t answer, instead marched over to the blonde, slapping her across the face, leaving small nail marks on Vers’ cheek.

Vers reacted immediately, out of self-defence, moving to black Minn-Erva’s next attack and attacking right back, arm swinging to hit her which Minn stopped, overpowering Vers with ease and flipping her to the ground. Within moments, Minn’s hand was on Vers’ throat, choking her hard.

“I should have killed you when I had the chance!” Minn-Erva hissed, looking down at Vers with a glance that could kill. “I was Yon-Rogg’s favourite. I was his best student, his star! But then you came along, his precious little Vers! Ever since he only ever has eyes for you! I was tossed aside like nothing ever happened! Like I never even exited!”

Her words were filled with venom, and Minn-Erva relinquished in the fact that there were tears in Vers’ eyes. Gods, how she wished she could strangle her then and there.

“You ruined everything,” the Kree woman sneered. “He was mine! My trainer! My commander! But then you came along. We were all better off without you!”

Vers, all this time, resisted the urge to fight back, partly because of the fear, and partly because she wanted to hear what exactly Minn had to say. By then struggling to breathe, Vers moved and tried to kick Minn-Erva off, unsuccessfully, and it seemed as though the other didn’t intend to let go, nor whether Vers would actually die.

Panic rose in Vers, and on instinct, her fist began to blow, a blast of photon power surging out and throwing Minn-Erva off her and up to the ceiling.

Minn’s back connected to the ceiling, and she let out a cry before falling down in the floor, remaining there motionless.

Vers watched wide eyed, still on the ground as well. She crawled over to Minn, checking her pulse and seeing that she was still alive before she scrambled to her feet, fear consuming her once realizing what she had done. Without thinking twice, she went straight to Yon-Rogg.

 

*** *** *** *** *** ***

 

“Nothing,” Vers was quick to say, brushing off tears and trying to remain calm. “Minn and I had a fight.”

Yon-Rogg only nodded, willing to listen further. He knew what this was all about. Raising an eyebrow, he inclined his head towards Vers, urging her to continue.

“She said… things. And I… I lost my temper. She was choking me! She tried to kill me! So, I blasted her away. She’s okay, I think. She’s alive!” Fear was evident and audible in her voice, the poor girl half expecting to be punished for what she did by her Commander.

In truth, Yon-Rogg was half tempted to punish not just Vers, but Minn-Erva as well. Vers, however, was the one who got attacked.

“I’ll have a word with Minn-Erva. What she did was out of line.”

“Wait… You won’t punish me?”

The Commander of Starforce hesitated for the slightest bit. His golden eyes found hers, a determined look settled in them.

“No, but remember…,” he gently placed a hand on her shoulder, grip tightening reassuringly. “No emotions. No anger. There's nothing more dangerous for a warrior than emotion. And anger, anger only serves the enemy. Emotions hinder you and cloud your mind. Apparently, that is a lesson Minn-Erva must learn again as well. I’ll make sure she does.”

Vers, unable to help herself, smiled softly and moved closer, hugging him for just a few seconds. The hug had Yon-Rogg stunned, his arms moving to wrap around Vers but not entirely there just yet. Eventually, given what she had been through, and needing comfort, he hugged her back, holding her close all until she pulled away.

“Thank you.”

 

*** *** *** *** *** ***

 

Reflecting back on it, Yon perhaps was biased towards Vers more than he cared to admit. So indirectly, he caused the ‘nightmares’ for himself, one way or another. And perhaps, just perhaps, just that time, he felt the need for them to have reversed roles, so Yon-Rogg dressed in his training gear and quietly moved through the barracks until he reached Vers’ room, knocking on her door. A few moments later he could hear movement behind the door, and shortly afterwards, it opened.

“Do you know what time it is?” Vers asked, sleepy and rather annoyed.

Yon-Rogg just smirked. “Wanna fight?”

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> English is not my first language, so errors can happen! I also live in a country where the pre Captain Marvel books aren't available, and this is all the creation of my own imagination, as well as interpretation of the movie, except for the characters. Constructive criticism is always welcome.


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